Rich Homberg discovered the potential of "now" in radio news as a student intern at WCAU radio in Philadelphia. It was the excitement, energy and immediacy that convinced the communications major to switch from television to news radio; a decision that eventually lead him to run WWJ in Detroit.
Now, as President and General Manager of Detroit Public Television, Homberg has found the potential of "more" in the medium he left behind. More historical entertainment and more in-depth news programs; hallmarks of public broadcasting.
"Almost to a distracting level, it has become a 'now' world," says Homberg, who left WWJ in January. "If you look at what's happened on the political scene, the 'now' dominates the political dialogue to the point where it is almost distracting for candidates.
You must position things constantly." In other words, the news and entertainment media have become so "now" that they don't provide "more."
WWJ captures the "now" in Detroit, he says. "Our goal was to put it into context. It's very easy to write strong headlines and to be very provocative – to fire up listeners on the drama of the day. …We weren't trying to have the strongest, flashiest, most provocative headline (but) we were also citizens, residents, taxpayers, voters, parents. … In the long run what you really want to be is a reliable, consistent source and trust that we're keeping an eye on the world for you in a 'now' way, but in context." This wasn't just an idealist speaking. Homberg's WWJ was the region's top billing station during most of his 12-year tenure.
Public television, he says, has always been about "more;" whether it's the depth of "Front Line" documentaries or programs like "Masterpiece Theater" and "Sesame Street." Under Homberg, the station is due to change in profound, if subtle, ways. "It's not just a television station, it's a media infrastructure," he says.
Homberg was a pioneer in diversifying the identity of WWJ, developing online publications, which extend and enrich the news offerings, according to Georgeann Herbert, director of Programming and E-Publications at WWJ. "He saw the opportunity to be able to leverage some of the content we were working on and do it on a push mode to people." He took the position that WWJ was not a radio station, but a "content provider" with radio being one of the means that distributes it.
Detroit Public Television will involve considerably more community engagement, as the station plays the role of "collaborator, catalyst, co-conspirator, storyteller. … how to help tell a story, how to capture it, how to edit it, how to post it," says Homberg. "That's a new role for us.
"Right now we only see ourselves as a big TV station. Documentary is really an important thing that we do, but a lot of times you need start as little TV," with programs that may not be scripted but evolve into something significant. Invariably there are surprising twists and turns."
Homberg anticipates stronger public affairs programming and community engagement, he says. "It probably starts on the Internet and ramps up over time and always offers more depth, longer versions, more content."
It's not just the content, but also the content's influence on the community that interests Homberg. It's this sense of corporate responsibility that impressed Dan Krichbaum, while he was president of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.
"Rich brings a passion about improving Metro Detroit," says Krichbaum, who now is COO for the State of Michigan. "He will get very involved in civic leadership. I would look also for more programming focused on educational, economic, and other issues that are critical to get people and organizations working together more cooperatively. He will bring great creativity to helping media of different sorts combine their offerings and reach larger audiences. Look, also, for more emphasis on diversity and inclusion as Rich has a good understanding (of their importance)."
Homberg's day begins well before 7 a.m., when he's often seen in a corner of Starbucks working on a laptop, and goes late into the evening when he exercises watching Charlie Rose on PBS. Throughout the day, he moves from group to group, injecting energy, ideas, and enthusiasm. "Rich is good at is getting a lot of people in the room," Herbert says. "You walk in (and wonder) why are all these people here? There's a solid reason why."
Homberg sometimes takes a philosopher's approach to meetings; a loose conversational style – "talking into ideas," as he says, and playing with the "riddle of the media." The "riddle," he says, is finding creative ways to manage a traditional media operation in the age of the Internet which has created thousands of competitors where there were only a few local ones.
Homberg is serious about the privilege and responsibility of a "public" broadcaster charged with doing what isn't done commercially in the community's interest: "The government allows us to operate in a non-taxed environment in a different way than all commercial businesses. What's the quid pro quo? You have to serve your mission. For public broadcasting, it has to be a spoken or unspoken mission: Bring new light to the world."
Beyond the programming, public television is also a community partner, he says. In a region of two Detroits – suburban and urban – Homberg has the diplomatic challenge of partnering with both. One of his challenges is reconciling with those who feel that the station abandoned Detroit in its move to Wixom. One move, prior to Homberg's arrival, was to establish a classical/jazz radio station housed in the Detroit Public School's High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, adjacent to the Max M. Fisher Music Center. But physical presence isn't what creates relationships. People do.
Recently, Homberg launched a monthly radio and television show produced by students, recorded at the Detroit studio. The program airs on radio and cable television. Homberg is also developing a locally developed gospel program. He anticipates incorporating podcasting, video shots from within the radio studio and on location, as well as sneak previews of upcoming symphony and other cultural events programmed on the WRCJ website. "In a few years, with changes in technology and the cost of technology going down, we could easily have satellite studios across Detroit. I hope and expect that we'll develop a satellite studio working with a partner in Detroit," Homberg says.
"Technically we're based in Oakland County; emotionally, we need to be based in Detroit," Homberg says. "We're more engaged with the city now than the station has been for the last 10 years."
Change, he says, is necessary for public television to become "more," as change is necessary in the region, says Homberg. "There is a great unreported force of non-change in many areas of Detroit – union and management, school districts, government and corporations… there are a lot of people who don't want Detroit to change. Gradually, they'll be moved. They have to change."
The soul of this public broadcasting station is the soul of a troubled region. "We have to start with accepting and being brutally honest about who we are, what we are, and relax a little, embrace diversity, embrace our positive aspects, understand our challenges, and chill," says Homberg.
Detroit, he says, has a strong sense of self and many stories to tell. "We need to stop fighting ourselves."
Dennis Archambault is a frequent contributor to Metromode and Model D, and all-round nice guy. His last article was Could Life Sciences Become Michigan's Core Industry?
Photographs by Marvin Shaouni
Marvin Shaouni is the managing photographer for Metromode & Model D.